We all love comfort food and this casserole screams comfort! It’s a lightened-up version of a classic Shepherd’s pie. It really has it all with lean protein from ground turkey, lots of veggies and topped with low calorie hash browns. Each serving has 248 calories and 7 grams of fat. I like to pack any leftovers in individual serving containers and freeze them.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Pie:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1½ teaspoon olive oil
- 1½ cups onions, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoon Dijon or yellow mustard
- 1 cup frozen green peas
Ingredients for Topping:
- 7 cups frozen hash brown potatoes, not thawed
- 3 tablespoons reduced-fat butter or Smart Balance Light, melted
- Olive oil or canola oil cooking spray
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Coat a 12 x 9 or 13 x 9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large nonstick pan, brown ground turkey over medium-high heat, about 8 minutes. Pour turkey into a colander and drain all the fat. Blot with paper towels. Set aside.
- In same pan, heat 1½ teaspoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in flour and tomato paste; cook for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, broth, wine, Worcestershire and Dijon. Bring to a boil, reduced heat to medium-low and stir in cooked ground turkey and peas.
- Pour filling into baking dish and place on baking sheet.
- For the topping: arrange frozen hash browns on top of filling. Lightly press the potatoes down to keep them mounded. Drizzle melted butter all over top of potatoes. Coat with olive oil or canola oil cooking spray all over the top of potatoes. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place casserole in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until potatoes are golden brown.
- Let pie cool for 15 minutes to set before serving. Cut into 8 servings.
Notes
Serves 8 (each serving, ⅛ of recipe)
Food Facts
Shepherd’s Pie was originally created as an economical way to use leftovers from the Sunday roast. It’s usually made with some kind of ground or diced meat such as beef, lamb or mutton mixed with a gravy and vegetables and topped with mashed potatoes.
Healthy Tips
Frozen hash browns are terrific. They’re just potatoes with no fat added. One cup has 70 calories, 0 fat and 0 trans fat. Taking the time to drain the browned ground turkey before adding it back to the pan cuts the calories and fat way down.
Prep Tips
The best way to melt the reduced-fat butter or Smart Balance light is in the microwave. Be sure to cover it with a dish so it doesn’t get all over your microwave. Heat for about 20 seconds.
Storage Tip
Wrap in individual portions and freeze any leftovers.
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 5-Blue
WW SmartPoints 6-Green
WW POINTS PLUS 5
Food Facts
Shepherd’s Pie was originally created as an economical way to use leftovers from the Sunday roast. It’s usually made with some kind of ground or diced meat such as beef, lamb or mutton mixed with a gravy and vegetables and topped with mashed potatoes.
Healthy Tips
Frozen hash browns are terrific. They’re just potatoes with no fat added. One cup has 70 calories, 0 fat and 0 trans fat. Taking the time to drain the browned ground turkey before adding it back to the pan cuts the calories and fat way down.
Prep Tips
The best way to melt the reduced-fat butter or Smart Balance light is in the microwave. Be sure to cover it with a dish so it doesn’t get all over your microwave. Heat for about 20 seconds.
Storage Tip
Wrap in individual portions and freeze any leftovers.
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 5-Blue
WW SmartPoints 6-Green
WW POINTS PLUS 5
| SKINNY FACTS: for 1 serving (each serving ⅛ of recipe) 248 calories, 7g fat, 2g sat. fat, 40mg chol, 14g protein, 23g carbs, 3g fiber, 346mg sodium, 4g sugar |
| FACTS: for Freestyle SmartPoints 197 calories, 2g sat. fat, 1g sugar, 12g protein |
Skinny Facts
Serving: 0.125recipeCalories: 248kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 14gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 346mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gBlue Smart Points: 5Green Smart Points: 6Plus Points: 5
Could you freeze the entire thing? If so, for how long? and How would you recommend reheating? Thanks!
This casserole will keep in the freezer for several months if stored properly. You may not wish to freeze your casserole in a pan as the pan will be out of use (and stuck in the freezer) until the day you decide to eat it. In that case, you can flash freeze the casserole in the shape of the pan and then freeze it in plastic wrap and foil.
To freeze: Line your casserole dish with aluminum foil and then add a layer of plastic wrap. Leave extra hanging at the edges so that you can pull it over the top later. Put the food in the dish and then put the dish in the freezer. Once the food is frozen, pull the lined food out of the dish and wrap it up with the remaining wrap then put the pan-shaped food back into the freezer.
To reheat-Remove the casserole from the freezer and into the fridge 24-36 hours before cooking. Preheat oven and bake casserole loosely covered with foil as directed (I usually allow an extra 20 minutes depending on the density of the casserole).
Best of luck!
Nancy